Beck
Working in Krabi Town
Monthly Earnings 33,000
Q1. How much do you earn from teaching per month?
I work in a Thai primary school and my salary is 33,000 baht a month
Q2. How much of that can you realistically save per month?
10,000 baht. I could actually save more if I didn't ever eat Western food or drink any alcohol or go out.
Q3. How much do you pay for your accommodation and what do you live in exactly (house, apartment, condo)?
6,000 a month plus utilities. It's a room with a balcony and its own bathroom. its modern and clean but very small.
Q4. What do you spend a month on the following things?
Transportation
Nothing because I have a friend with a bike but very occasionally I'll get a bike taxi for 20 baht
Utility bills
200 baht for water and at least 600 for electricty, depending on how much air-con i use.
Food - both restaurants and supermarket shopping
Around 7,000 baht per month. Western food costs more, but sometimes I need a change from Thai food
Nightlife and drinking
1,000 baht but it depends. Some months I don't go out at all, other times I really need to.
Books, computers
E-books keep me sane, 3,000 baht-ish.
Q5. How would you summarize your standard of living in one sentence?
It's okay. I don't have a kitchen, so no cooking, and sometimes it can be hard to get a balanced diet. You really need a bike so you can get around easily, but then that adds to your expenses too. Some people rent houses, but they cost way more than apartments. You can get cheaper rooms than 6,000 baht, but you pay for what you get.
Q6. What do you consider to be a real 'bargain' here?
A good balanced meal for 80 baht but food and accomodation are more expensive here than other places in Thailand
Q7. In your opinion, how much money does anyone need to earn here in order to survive?
To just survive, around 20,000 baht I would say.
Phil's analysis and comment
When I look at Beck's survey, I see a typical teacher earning a typical Thailand TEFL wage. And that's great! We need more of these figures because I'm sure the vast majority of teachers perusing these surveys and thinking of coming to teach in Thailand, will be earning this sort of dough.
Take note of some of Beck's answers. The e-books keep me sane. I need my Western food from time to time. I need to go out for some nightlife now and again. Of course you do to all three! If you can't afford to treat yourself to a night out, a hearty steak and chips or a few nice books every so often, there's just no point being here is there? You're not here to live a work and sleep existence.
I would have thought 33,000 baht in a Thai town (albeit a more expensive Thai town) would get you an OK standard of living - and that's exactly how Beck describes it.
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